Run Around the Foolsberry Bush
by Kima-Mitsura
Summary: In a world of ninjas, rogues, and silent assassins...there's Ikasu Nanei. As a girl living in a normal family and graduating from the Ninja Academy in Konoha, what will happen when her life is tossed into rapid spin? Language warning. Currently on hiatus.
1. Introductions are fun

"Run Around the Foolsberry Bush" – Chapter 1

Yay! Another story! I think I really like this one.

Well, this story will be entirely nerdly and will feature me! Well…an embodiment of me…it'll be first person (because that's how I write best) and will feature one of my closest friends: Frosty (from Tonfa ( You may know her from one of her stories (not necessarily on Tonfa) featuring a famous blueberry muffin. I'm also going to have a third character, of my or Frosty's own design (we hadn't decided who it is yet), as a main character.

So, yes, this is the spawn of random and of what discussions Frosty and I have about _Naruto_, _Death Note_, and other anime quirks. Not to mention I got the idea while writing Chapter 6 for "Incoming" (my first story on Tonfa).

Okay, so Frosty will equal Tankou Kasai (AKA Ember) in this story, "I" will be Ikasu Nanei, and the third character…will be made up. I don't have much more than that right now shrugs. Well, that's enough ramble, on with the show!

**Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto_ franchise, Kishimoto Masashi-dono does. The three main characters belong to Frosty and me.**

"..." - speech, '...' - thought

_italicized_ - flashback/emphasis, **bold** - more emphasis

CAPITALIZED - major emphasis/ loud noise

_**bold italicized**_ - change in POV/flashback on/off switch

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"Nanei! Get out here!" **THUD THUD** "Na-ne-iiii!!!!" **THUD THUD THUD** Boy, if that wasn't the morning song at my apartment, the sky wasn't blue. It was my friend Tankou Kasai, or as I called her, Ember. Her family works with metal and forges many of the ninja weapons here in Konohagakure, hence "tankou"; tankou means metal worker. Because she was never really into making weapons, her given name means fire, and, since she's a small girl like me, I call her Ember. Ember is rather short, maybe an inch or so shorter than me (A/N: I am 12 years old and stand 4'9" at the start of this story) and she's a bit on the heavy side. No, she's not fat and not because she eats a lot, but because that's how she is. If anyone calls her fat, they get a fat lip and a pretty black eye to match, courtesy of Ember or me. Her hair is a sandy blonde that reaches her shoulders, her eyes are a blueish-gray-green and she wears corrective eyewear, like I do.

Me? I'm Nanei, Ikasu Nanei to be exact. My name has no particular meaning, but it sounds pretty. I think Ikasu means "revival" or "smart"…something along those lines. My family is an ordinary civilian family; my mom works in her kimono shop and dad works as a salesman for the same shop. Because of their success, mom and dad could afford to send me to the coolest place in Konoha: the Ninja Academy. Grandpa was a ninja before he was forced to retire after the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago; he'd lost his left leg and his right eye and his right leg was badly crippled with spinal damage. I always wanted to be a ninja, to live on grandpa's dream as well as my own.

**THUD THUD THUD** Oh yeah, that noise. Every morning, I enjoy sleeping in and, more often than not, I will. Ember is my only real alarm, because I've already smashed my mechanical one, so she comes by to wake me up every morning. But alas, I am not a morning person, so I just grumble, roll over, and wrap myself in sheets before dozing off again. This morning, though, I can't press my bodily snooze button, so I'm just lying awake today. After a minute, there's silence. No banging, no yelling, just quiet…before Ember comes into my room and jumps on me.

"Time to wake up, Nanei! We're going to be late for school!" Ember all but screamed into my ears. Did I mention Ember is my classmate in the Academy? Along with the shy Hyuuga Hinata, hyperactive Uzumaki Naruto, and lazy Nara Shikamaru, Ember is one of my best friends. Groaning, I grudgingly opened my crusty eyes and stared at the red digital numbers on my fancy new clock I bought the other day. Being late is something everyone learned to avoid with Umino Iruka as our sensei; he's almost too strict. After a moment, I sprang to life, knocking Ember, my bed sheets, and myself to the floor. It was 8:52 AM. Eight minutes 'til class started.

"CRAP!! I'M GONNA BE LATE!!" I shouted, gathering my clothes and a few accessories before shutting myself in the bathroom. I took a record three-minute shower, dried my long brown hair (to my middle back), tied it up in a smooth pony-tail, and piled into my usual outfit: a sports bra, my long-sleeve black under-armor over that and my cream-colored vest over that. After that was a set of black spandex shorts that stopped a couple inches above my knees, a white skirt with splits on the sides, and a brown belt lose around my waist. I slipped on my favorite necklace, given to me when I was little, and popped in my usual stud earrings (my left ear is pierced 3 times from the lobe up and my right is pierced 3 times along the top arch). I thundered out of the bathroom, grabbed my glasses (I have bad eyesight) and Ember before running into the kitchen and grabbing my younger brother's toast right off the plate.

"Hey! That's my toast! Give it back!" My five-year-old brother shouted as I slipped on my black ninja shoes. The slice of sweet buttered toast was hanging from my mouth as I waved goodbye to my dad, who was just about to leave. Before anything else could be said, I jumped onto the railing in front of my apartment, Ember in tow, and leapt from building to building at top speed. Before you could say "dattebayo", we reached the Academy and ran in, being careful not to crash into anybody on the way.

"Nanei! Slow down! We have time!" Ember shouted from behind me. A glimpse at a hallway clock proved she was right, but I was notorious for being late even with tons of time. Besides, one more late appearance and I'd be sentenced to detention, which was never fun. Slowing down was not an option. I skidded to a stop in front of the class doors and gingerly opened the sliding door. I panted heavily and slowly recovered my breath while looking around the room. Thankfully, everybody was milling about and doing their own thing, while Iruka-sensei was yet to appear.

"Phew…close call." I sighed, still panting.

"Again? Gees…Nanei, you seriously need to get a sense of time." Ah, the familiar sarcastic banter of Nara Shikamaru. He's the laziest guy in class, so lazy that he fails his tests by not even filling them out. One thing that very few people know is that he's a total genius with an IQ of…well…a number way the hell up there. Every game of chess, checkers, and shogi ended up in Shikamaru winning. I only beat him once in a game of checkers, but that was because he was almost asleep at the time.

"Look who's talking Sir Sleeps-a-lot." I retorted punching him gently in the arm. Being the nerd I am, I often read a lot about knights and other fantasy tales, so I often joke with Shika about them…also because he'd be the only one (besides Ember) to get the jokes. Ember and I settled in a couple seats and I struck up a conversation with the timid, blueberry-haired Hyuuga girl. "How's it going, Hina-chan? Your cousin giving you any trouble?"

"Yeah," Ember added, "Do we get to beat him up?" Ember pretended to fight the air, punching it every now and again. Neji was never her favorite person, nor mine.

"Oh, everything's f-fine." Hinata stuttered, "No, N-Neji-nii-san hasn't bothered me l-lately. H-he's b-been out on missions."

"That's good to hear." I smiled widely at my friend, "I'd hate to have to beat him up _again_." You see, Hinata and I have been friends since day 1 at the academy: she was seven and I was eight (I was born March 10 and she was born December 27), she was timid and I was a loudmouth, and she was fawned over while I treated her like a normal person. See, Hinata is the oldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan, so Hinata is the heiress to the Hyuuga clan (hence the fawning). Cool huh? I'm friends with a weapon-smith, a genius, and an heiress! ...It all makes me seem like the person who just tags along to look cool.

But wait, what about me knowing Neji? Well, the year after we first met, Hinata invited me for a sleepover. Neji, who was one year older than us, was there and, well, let's just say we didn't get along. He called Hinata pathetic, I pulled his hair and yelled in his face, he smacked me upside the head (with his fist), and I finished it off by kicking him where the sun don't shine. Needless to say, Neji's not my closest acquaintance. The dislike was reinforced on another occasion. I laughed to myself when I recalled the event.

_**Flashback to one year ago**_

_It was mid-February; the winter snows were melting away and spring was on the horizon if not already upon the hidden ninja village of Konohagakure. Early rains were expected every now and again, so most civilians, kids, and shinobi went around with an umbrella or a hooded coat. A rainstorm was also expected, so many were prepared to run for cover if the weather got too nasty._

_"N-Nanei-nee-san?" an eleven-year-old Hyuuga Hinata asked me. We had just gotten out of class and we were leaving the Academy._

_"Hai, Hina-chan?" my eleven-year-old self asked back._

_"W-would you like to come to my s-sleepover? I-I've invited a few others." Hinata often invited only me to one of her sleepovers, but it was good to see her branching out. I smiled and nodded._

_"I'd love to, Hina-chan! I'll ask mom and get some of my things together, okay?" Hinata nodded and smiled back at me as I ran home to gather my sleeping bag and the other necessaries. Later on in the night, everyone was getting sleepy and half of the people Hinata invited never showed, but there were maybe eight of us (including Ember, Hinata, and me) there. Most of the girls gossiped and we played "Truth or Dare" once or twice. It was the third round of "Truth or Dare" (we all agreed to go to bed after this one) and it was my turn._

_"Alright, Nanei," a girl named Moshi started, "Truth…or **Dare**?" She asked, pausing for dramatic effect. I'd taken truth twice already, so I decided to pick dare this time. "Oohs" and "aahs" flew around our little circle. Moshi put her pointer finger to her chin and thought a moment before smiling devilishly. "Okay then…Nanei. I dare you to…**kiss** Rock Lee." Moshi said with a smirk on her face. Everyone in the circle gasped because, earlier that night, Neji had brought his ninja team over to show off to his uncle Hiashi and boy were they odd. Neji's sensei, Maito Gai, had left to go out on a "youthful" mission while Neji's teammates, a girl named Tenten and a boy named Rock Lee, decided to hang out for the night. Besides, the rain was too harsh for them to leave. So Tenten and Lee were spending the night. All of us girls met Neji's team and most of us laughed at the sight of them. Tenten because of her "cinnamon bun" hairstyle and clashing choice of greenish pants with a pink top; Gai because he wore _bright green_ spandex_orange_ leg warmers, his hitai-ate around his waist, and a bowl cut for his shiny black hair._

_Lee was one of the funniest looking of all: his hair was long and, well, dorky looking, his bug eyes freaked most of us out, and his hands were all bandaged up like a mummy's. But most of all, Lee's eyebrows were **big** and **furry** (A/N: This is before Lee became Gai's clone.). His head fell and a frown adorned his face. I was the second to stop laughing, after Hina-chan, and patted his back apologetically after everyone else started walking away. Now, though, the girls were giggling hysterically; if I took the dare and completed it, I'd either be laughed at for a while or I'd be honored for getting near the boy. If I turned down the dare, I'd have to run around the yard in the rain…and in my underwear. Now I adore rain and storms, but in my underwear? At the Hyuuga household? Not gonna happen. But being mean was not in my nature; I only like playing harmless pranks, an attribute influenced by Naruto Uzumaki. But, while I went out to complete my dare, Neji walked past me...chaos was eminent._

_"…Loser…" He muttered, knowingly still in earshot._

_"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" I shouted, whipping around and raising a fist at him._

_"Are you as deaf as you are stupid? I said 'loser.'" Neji retorted, cool as a cucumber. His trademark smirk was etched on his face and his lavender orbs bored into my golden brown ones. Oh…this guy had a knack for pushing my buttons._

_"THAT'S IT!!" I shouted pouncing on the Hyuuga and clawing dangerously at him. The fight rolled out into the yard and I immediately felt the pelting of rain on me. No matter, I still tried to kick Neji's ass. Punch, punch, claw, kick, spin, punch, spin, kick, claw, kick, punch…you get the idea. Mud flew everywhere and I actually managed to land some hits. Unfortunately, Neji landed a few too. He pushed me off and into a mud puddle, where I sat, gasping for breath. I saw his hair and clothes were caked in mud and I laughed a bit, though I wasn't looking any better. You ever hear of the mud monster? Well, that was me I guess._

_"I told you…you were a loser." Neji panted slightly. I, however, was still gasping. Lee, Tenten, Hinata, and the other girls all came out to see what happened._

_"Neji!" Lee shouted, "It is not youthful to fight a girl outside of sparring!" Lee, Ember, and Hinata slogged their way through the surprisingly deep mud. I regained my composure by sitting vertically and my breathing rate calmed. Hinata looked me over worriedly, but I stood, shaky and covered in mud, to show I was okay. Lee shrugged one of my arms over his shoulders, along with Ember, and helped carry me to the covered wooden walkway; the rain wiped off a lot of the mud on the way. Tenten had gotten some towels and set one for me to sit on as well as one for Neji._

_"A-Are you okay, N-Nanei-nee-san?" Hinata asked as she helped rub mud out of my hair while Ember wiped some mud off my arms and legs. My breathing was still very deep, but it was better than before._

_"Hai…I'm fine Hina-chan…I just…have to catch…my breath." I smiled assuredly at Hinata. I turned to Lee and nodded. "Thank you…for helping me…out of that mud…Lee."_

_"It was no trouble at all!" Lee said. His smile gleamed and his eyes creased into smiling curves. Taking my chance, I kissed Lee on the nose and wrapped myself in a large towel. I stood and made my way to my stuff to get myself a change of clothes._

_"Hey! Don't I get any thanks?" Ember asked angrily. I laughed a bit at Ember's exasperation and as I walked past Moshi, I said, "Dare complete." And the night resumed with no further exciting events._

**_End Flashback _**

"I'll never forget that…" I sighed dreamily, my chin resting in the palm of my hand as my elbow propped me up. Kicking Neji's butt was an event I always prided myself in attempting. Bugging the Hyuuga genius wasn't too far off the mark either. Slapping paint on his face, sticking gum in his hair, and putting itching powder in his underwear drawer (he wears briefs, so it's even better!) were a few of my favorite pranks to pull on him. The only days I wouldn't prank Neji, is on formal family days, his birthday, Christmas, New Years, and April Fool's Day (so his guard would be down for the day _after_ April Fools's Day).

"Alright, class! Settle down, settle down." I heard Iruka-sensei say as he approached the front of the class. I snapped free of memory lane and looked towards the front of the class. Iruka-sensei was there, but so was someone else. I was towards the back of the class, but this person appeared to be a guy. He had on a zip-up hoodie (hood up), long black pants that went to his ankles, close-toed, slightly heeled boots on his feet, and a curtain of cloth over his right leg (kinda like what Cloud had in the "Advent Children" movie). The guy was left-handed, judging by the shuriken holster on his left thigh, and he had a long, long, LONG braid of black hair curled around his neck, which was wearing a black leather collar, and falling free of the hoodie. From the bottom of his left eye to his jawline was a black stripe. His bangs were silver and his pitch-black eyes screamed "stay away". I shivered slightly and listened to the last of what Iruka-sensei was saying, "-so give a warm welcome to our new student, Kuroi Ada." Only a few guys waved (even then it was halfhearted), most of the girls giggled and whispered to each other with blushes on their faces, and my bunch of friends smiled warmly.

Kuroi Ada; Kuroi means black, Ada means revenge. I shivered again, but my brain claimed it was a misnomer. This "Ada" guy was probably a decent person, just a bit standoffish like the emo in class, Uchiha Sasuke. Killing the trend, Ember, Naruto and I waved and greeted the new guy excitedly.

"Greetings, Ada! I'm Ikasu Nanei!" I said happily. I wore a smile that would rival even Lee's and Gai's.

"I'm Tankou Kisai, but call me Ember!" Ember chirped, a cute smile on her face.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The next Hokage! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood on his chair…before losing his balance and falling face-first into the row in front of him. Ada merely quirked an eyebrow and nodded a greeting to all three of us before taking a seat towards the back of the class.

"This guy seems cool." I said to Hinata. She nodded and looked worriedly at her secret crush, Naruto. Did I mention I know just about everything about the adorable Hyuuga girl? Including secrets?

"Alright class. Today we'll be working on genjutsus. Don't forget to take notes; this could be on your final exam." Iruka-sensei said. The finals of this year were coming up pretty soon, maybe two months away. It was March fifth now, five days before my birthday, and finals always took place in late May. If I started now or in April, I'd be totally set to ace that test. Thinking about the test made me glance towards Ada.

'Is he a genin waiting to get a new team?' I thought, 'No. He has no headband. He must've moved here not too long ago and is finishing his studies as an Academy student.' I reasoned that much and returned my attention to the front of the class as Iruka-sensei went on about how to dispel genjutsus with and without the aid of another's chakra. I already knew a lot about this stuff, so I folded my hands on the desk in front of me and dozed off after a half hour of Iruka-sensei's lecture.

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Well, that's chapter 1. I rather like it, considering it takes up maybe eight pages on Microsoft Word. Mainly, the longer it is, the more I like the story. So, "Incoming" (my story on Tonfa) isn't ending anytime soon and neither is this story! Yay for writing!

Now, at the beginning I said I didn't know what the third character would be. Well, after some deliberating, I decided to give Kuroi Ada new life from being just a drawing on paper to being an actual character in a story! Besides, hairpin turns will take place as a result of Ada's existence! Muahahahaha!

...Sorry about that, couldn't help myself.

Reviews are nice!

(Chapter 1 End)


	2. Guess who

"Run Around the Foolsberry Bush" – Chapter 2

Hurrah for chapter 2! This chapter is in a different POV, but I'm not telling you which one. Can you guess who it is? It's pretty friggin' easy.

Thank you and congratulations to Nightmare Hikari for being my _**first**_ reviewer _**EVER**_ for this story! -tosses confetti-

(Wow…this must be my shortest ramble ever…)

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the **_**Naruto**_** characters, no matter how much I adore them. They belong to Kishimoto Masashi-dono. I do own my own character (Ikasu Nanei), Frosty owns herself (Tankou Kasai, AKA Ember), and I own Kuroi Ada. Thieves are bad, so give me credit if you use any of my characters**** in a story or something**

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_**Out in the middle of th**__**e Fire country forest**_

The birds were chirping, wind was blowing through the leaves, the bugs were humming-

**THUNK ****THUNK****THUNK**

-and kunai were flying right at me. It was difficult to dodge my teammate's attacks, she's awfully good at medium and long-range weapons. Her name is Tenten, a powerful opponent, so no one should count her out. Tenten is older than me and my other teammate, Neji: she was born in March, I was born in November, and Neji was born in July. If you are not sure you have met Tenten, she, as far as I have seen, always wears her hair up in two buns. A very convenient way to have your hair, for it won't be in your way when dealing with sharp devices as she does.

My other teammate is Hyuuga Neji. He is what everyone calls a "genius" with "natural talent". But I am also a genius! I am a genius of hard work! I never give up when I put my mind to something and I hope to become as good a taijutsu master as my sensei and defeat Neji in combat. We duel each day, but each day, Neji defeats me in a fight. But I am determined to defeat him! Neji is also my eternal rival, as the legendary Hatake Kakashi is to my sensei, the Green beast of Konoha, Maito Gai.

Ossu! Gai-sensei is so cool! Every day he trains us until we can hardly stand, but it is always to make us stronger! To make us better than the "us" of yesterday! Better than the "us" of one hour ago! His outfit is the coolest as well! I wear the same kind of outfit as him because it helps me so much in my training. Easy to move in, breathable, and my favorite color: green! The leg warmers hide my weights and some short-range weapons, so I train even when I fight enemy ninjas!

"Oi, Lee!" Tenten shouted (A/N: Sorry, I couldn't hide his identity forever. Then again, you gathered who it was pretty quick, huh?), "Toss my kunai back! We're heading out."

"Hai, Tenten!" I answered as I grabbed the knives and pulled them free from the body of a tree. Hading them over to my female teammate, I threw on my backpack and headed towards the main road back to Konohagakure. When Tenten and I got there, Neji was already there and Gai-sensei was doing some push-ups to pass the time.

"Aha! There are my two remaining youthful students!" Gai-sensei said as he jumped into a standing position. "Now then, let us run all the way back to Konoha!"

"But that's three hours away…" Neji said pointedly.

"Not if we run, Neji-kun!" I exclaimed, "Come on, I will race you to the main gates!"

"How wonderfully youthful! A race between rivals!"

"No thanks. I'll run, but I won't race." Neji said. He shook his head "no" and folded his arms to emphasize his choice.

"Very well. Tenten, will you join me in this race?"

"Uh-er…no thanks, Lee. My ankle is still sore from twisting it the other day." Tenten answered. I had forgotten that she accidentally tripped during our fight against some bandits. Walking and running on it probably made it hurt.

"I'll join you, Lee!" I turned to Gai-sensei and smiled happily. Gai-sensei is so cool! He would never let our hopes down! "Ready, Lee?" Gai-sensei positioned himself in a racing stance.

"Ready, Gai-sensei!" I answered, getting into a similar racing position. "Neji! Call the start, if you please."

"Fine. Three…two…one…go." And with that, Gai-sensei and I battled in a footrace to the gates of Konoha. Tenten and Neji were left in our dust.

…

Gai-sensei and I skidded to a stop at the main entrance to Konoha. I was a mere inch from defeating Gai-sensei in the footrace. It was an exhausting run, but a perfect way to train our leg muscles. Gai-sensei laughed and reveled in his victory, congratulating me for getting so close to victory and requiring more training of me. I saluted Gai-sensei and vowed to train my hardest. Not long after we stopped, Tenten and Neji arrived behind us, slightly winded, but obviously by their exciting and youthful run.

"Ne, Hina-chan, is that Neji and his team again?" I heard a familiar voice say. I turned to my right and saw Neji's adorably youthful cousin Hinata with two other girls. One had reddish-brown-blonde hair at her shoulders, blue-gray eyes behind black-framed glasses, and was more built than most girls her age. The other was slightly taller with brown-blonde hair to her mid-back, had gold-brown eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses, and looked very fit.

"Yeah, must be. I'd never forget these guys…" the shorter, more built girl stated. She mumbled incoherently afterward, inciting a laugh from the taller girl beside Hinata. I had originally met those two at the Hyuuga household, Hinata-chan was having a sleepover and Neji wanted to introduce us to his uncle, Hyuuga Hiashi-sama. I remember it like it was yesterday… (A/N: God that was a corny transition…)

_Flashback to one year __ago_

_It was early spring in Konoha, the winter snows were vanishing, and rain would soon be coming to the ninja village. Earlier than many expected though, because a huge rainstorm was scheduled to appear late one night.__ That same night Hyuuga Hinata invited some female friends to a sleepover at her house and Hyuuga Neji decided to introduce his team to his family. When I first walked in the door, I formally greeted everyone present while some of the girls Hinata invited were giggling._

_"Look at him!" "I like his hair cut, n__ot!" "What kind of style is_ that_?" "Look at his bug eyes!" __"And the eyebrows, so creepy!"__"But not Neji!"__ "He's so cool!"__were__ some of the giggle-filled comments from the crowd of eight girls. Hinata-chan was the only one who did not seem to be enjoying the same fun-poking as some of the others. She giggled maybe once, but was quiet after. Another girl stopped laughing right after her and the crowd of giggling girls retreated to the living room area. Most of the comments were obviously pointed at me._

_I sighed and hung my head sadly. 'Why am I not as "cool" as Neji? I__ a__m as much a genius as he is…' My thoughts were interrupted when someone patted my back. I expected it to be Tenten, but it was that girl the first to stop laughing after Hinata-chan. I think Neji introduced her as Ikasu Nanei.__ She smiled apologetically and left to join the other seven on her sleeping bag. It surprised me that she would deviate from her friends to say sorry. I smiled back at her, even though she could not see it, for being kind enough to say sorry. As the night progressed, the rain worsened, so Tenten and I were invited to stay until the storm passed.__Neji showed us to some guest rooms__ and I cleaned myself up after a long day of training. I left my room in search of the kitchen for some hot chocolate. Nothing beat cold, rainy weather like a cup of hot chocolate…especially with marshmallows._

_"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" I heard a girl shout from around the corner. I went over and saw Nanei glaring angrily at Neji, who was wearing a familiar smirk. Tenten must have heard too, because she also came outside._

_"What's going on?" Tenten asked. I looked at her and shrugged before turning back. Neji made a quip about the girl being "as deaf as she was stupid".__ I do not believe she took it too well._

_"THAT'S IT!!" Nanei shouted before tackling Neji. It surprised me that she could hit and cl__aw him as many times as she did; I was not able to hit him half as many times during our entire practice that day. Neji managed to get a good hit in her sternum and she went flying into the mud not far off. Both Neji and Nanei were coated in mud and Nanei was noticeably gasping for breath. Hinata-chan and the other girls appeared at the start of the fight and Hinata looked scared for her friend. It angered me to see Neji fight a girl outside of sparring. It just was not a good thing to do._

_"Tenten, go get some towels." I said over my shoulder to my teammate. She nodded and ran towards the bathroom. Once she was gone, "Neji!" I shouted, "It is not youthful to fight a girl outside of sparring!" Hinata, a seemingly random girl, and I walked through the mud__dy training yard__ to get to Nanei. Nanei was now sitting up straight, her head up towards the sky, and seemed to have __a difficulty__ breathing. Hinata-chan looked over Nanei like a worried mother hen and pressed her palm to her sternum. I learned about the Juuken technique specific to the Hyuuga clan earlier in a spar against Neji, so it was only logical that Hinata was trying to heal what was damaged.__ Nanei's breathing relaxed a bit and I lifted her right arm over my shoulders while wrapping my left around her waist. Hinata followed us closely and the random girl, whom I later found out was Tankou Kasai, was shouting angrily at Neji. He looked like he could care less. Tenten laid out a towel for Nanei to sit on as Hinata and Kasai wiped Nanei free of mud._

_"A-Are you okay, N-Nanei-nee-san?"__ Hinata asked as I draped a large towel over Nanei's shoulders. By now, Nanei's breathing was more relaxed, but still deep. My first thought was she had asthmatic problems._

_"Hai…I'm fine __Hina__-chan…I just…have to catch…my breath." The muddy girl panted as she smiled at Hinata-chan. She then turned to me and smiled thankfully. "Thank you…for helping me…out of that mud…Lee." I couldn't help but smile back._

_"It was no trouble at all!" I answered, my eyes closing with my big smile. Next thing I know, there's a soft touch to my nose and I open my eyes. Nanei was getting up and turned away from me, Hinata-chan and her friend. I could not help the blush on my face. This girl, an almost complete stranger,_ kissed me_! On __the nose, yes, but still! My hand went to my nose__ as a blush found itself on my face__ and I went back to my room__, after wiping the mud off my feet._

_Before I closed my door I heard Kasai ask angrily, "Hey! Don't I get any thanks?" I heard a laugh from Nanei and then all was calm. No exciting events happened afterward._

_**End Flashback**_

"Those must be Hinata's 'friends'…" Neji said, freeing me from my reverie.

"Ikasu Nanei and Tankou Kasai, right?" Tenten asked. The three had made their way over to us now. Kasai and Nanei were smiling and Hinata-chan fidgeted nervously. She always seemed to do that with Neji around.

"That's us! I know it's been a while but…Gai-sensei-" Nanei said, pointing to said Gai-sensei, "Tenten," she pointed to her, "Wedgie and Lee." Nanei pointed to Neji and then me. I smiled and laughed slightly as an anger vein appeared on Neji's face. Gai-sensei must have known where this was going, because he dismissed himself to report the mission's success to the Hokage.

"My _name_ is 'Neji'."

"Edgy?" Nanei said in mock confusion.

"Neji."

"Bed sheet?" Tenten suggested.

"Neji." My rival's eye began to twitch as Tenten started giggling at the event.

"Dead flea?" Kasai joined in.

"NE-JI." He pronounced angrily.

"Teh key?" Kasai guessed again.

"NEJI." My rival said. His teeth seemed to grind together in frustration. You must admit, though, it is rather amusing to see Neji so riled up. There was a pause as Nanei held her chin in thought.

"Hmmm…I think I'll call you…" another pause, "'butt-face'!" Neji deadpanned and Tenten burst out laughing with Kasai as Hinata giggled lightly. I could not help but to join in on the laughter. After all, teasing and making fun every once in a while was youthful behavior and laughter was pure youth.

"…Ikasu…" Neji muttered threateningly.

"Oh, come on, butt-face! You walked right into that one!" Nanei said, poking Neji in the chest and smirking.

"Yeah he did! Hook, line, and sinker!" Kasai said, laughing all the while. Neji grabbed Nanei's wrist and glared angrily at Nanei as her face also scrunched into a glare. After a while, the staring contest was still going strong, neither opponent was ready to give up. It was a life-or-death match of the eyes.

"Promise to stop bugging me and I'll let you go." Neji said after an even longer while.

"Let go and I'll let up for a day." Nanei answered.

"Two months."

"Two days."

"One month."

"One week, and that's my final offer." Nanei said; her over-the-glasses glare almost as dangerous as Neji's patented get-out-of-my-face-or-else glare.

"One week…and a half. No less." Neji shot back. Kasai gasped and pretended to faint (in that super dramatic style) as Hinata caught her and fanned her face.

"Don't do it, Nanei!" Tenten said, joining in again. Her voice sounded like it belonged in a soap opera (A/N: No offence to anybody who likes soaps.).

"She is right, Nanei-chan!" I said putting a hand on her shoulder, "If you let up now, he'll just ask for more." Yes, I was in on the fun too. I always knew when Neji had a prank pulled on him: his itching shorts were subtle but noticeable, he had slight dark marks on his face, his hair was set just the wrong way, and once he even went on a week-long mission with bright pink hair. Now, though, Neji's left eye twitched and a frown formed on his face.

"Whose side are you both on, anyway?!" Neji asked Tenten and I angrily, his eye still twitching.

"Deal." Nanei said calmly. Everyone looked at her and she repeated, "It's a deal. For one week and a half, I will not bother you."

"Starting now." Neji said decisively, squeezing Nanei's wrist hard and then letting it go. Neji then walked away and towards home. Hinata, who had stood Kasai back up, scuttled along behind him, reminding or telling him of a few family matters. Nanei smirked, folded her arms and laughed lightly.

"He never said in a row…" the brown-eyed girl said. I could only marvel at how devious Nanei was.

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Uhm…yep. That's it for now. Chapter three will be done soon, so tune in next time for Nanei's (AKA my) POV. I like switching in and out of POVs…maybe I should do it more often. -shrugs-

Ja ne, minna!


	3. Over for dinner?

"Run Around the Foolsberry Bush" – Chapter 3

_La-la-la! Everybody's __singin__' the stupidest song on the radio!__ Look at me I'm on MTV in the cheesiest video you'll ever see!_

(Lyrics from "Sellout" by the Oddz)

Sorry, couldn't help it! I was listening to the song as I was typing this up, so yay! Other than that, "Gay Bar" by Electric Six and anything by MSI (especially "J") are great to listen to while writing stories! Fun chapter this one is (even though Ada doesn't show up in it). Nothing too important happens, but it's relevant to the rest of the story, so please R & R:D

**Disclaimer: I dun own the **_**Naruto**_**characters**** they all belong to Kishimoto Masashi-dono****. I own Ikasu Nanei and Kuroi Ada. Frosty owns herself known as Tankou Kasai (AKA Ember)**

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"See you tomorrow Ember! And don't forget the pie!" I shouted as I waved a farewell to Ember.

"I won't! You remember the utensils and we're gold!" Ember shouted back, laughing. See, today was Thursday and every Friday, Ember's mom would have three pies made. Each was a different flavor and every week had different pies from the last week, which made me wonder how many pie flavors Mrs. Tankou had in her cookbook. This week, she wanted to give us what we all dubbed "Foolsberry Pie". I'll tell you the story behind it later.

"Ojii-san! I'm home!" I sang as I skipped into my house-apartment (Ojii-san is "grandfather" in Japanese; Nanei's apartment has to be big in order to fit five people cozily). Mom and dad were always at the shop while grandpa often hung out at home or in the park when I was set free from institutional learning. Today, I didn't see him at the park, so I assumed he was home. Wrong. "Ojii-san?" I called out; silence was my answer. 'Hmm…it seems Ojii-san is either playing ninja hide-and-seek…or he's taking one of his famous naps…' my thoughts trailed as I searched the house.

I couldn't sense Ojii-san's fractal chakra signature, which flowed very lazily when he was asleep. So, I then searched for a note. 'He never leaves the house without leaving a note.' I looked at our refrigerator and…ding! There was a bright blue piece of paper taped there with the reason for Ojii-san's disappearance from the large apartment-house. See, my family has it so if you have an errand to run or if you're going out, you leave the respected color taped to the stark-white fridge. Red was for an emergency or alert; pink meant late at the shop; yellow was "out for a while, be back for lunch/dinner"; green was for visiting friends or being out on business; blue meant surprise.

_"Went to training ground eleven.__ See you there, __Nane__-chan."_ was what Ojii-san had written. I giggled excitedly and left a note on yellow paper before pelting out of my apartment to go to training ground eleven. Ojii-san used to take me to his training grounds as often as he could and meditate with me or, on three occasions, celebrate something. It was an old and abandoned training field, mainly because it was beaten to a lumpy pulp and the trees were rotting in their old age, but it was still good for a family romp. Today, however, would be different; it was only five days from my birthday, so I was sure Ojii-san had something very special for me.

…

"Oh shitake! Die stupid tree! Die! Die!! **DIE**" I cursed the tall tree, kicking it repeatedly until my foot went numb and I hobbled around to get back feeling in it. This was my eighth time trying this technique and I was beginning to get _very_ frustrated.

"Settle down Nane-chan." Ojii-san said as he stood off to the side of the same clearing his spunky granddaughter, me, was training in. By the way, only Ojii-san was allowed to call me Nane-chan (pronounced: Nah-nay- chan). "The tree-climbing technique is very difficult," Ojii-san continued, "even as a genin I had trouble with it."

"But Ojii-san, if I master this technique before my graduation exam, who knows what kind of advantage I'll have!! I'll be _unstoppable_!" I emphasized my statement by throwing my hands up in the air and waving them around. Ojii-san laughed wholeheartedly and nodded. He and I both knew I would have a hell of an advantage, but where would that put me after graduation? I'd have only a fraction of my current free time to spend with Ojii-san.

"I know Nane-chan, I know. I thought the same thing when I was first learning it, but take it easy!" Ojii-san was laughing again, probably a funny memory from _waaaaaaaaaaaay_ back in the day. "Let's try some breathing practices. You'll do better if you're cool-headed." I sighed and nodded, glancing at Ojii-san with a pout on my face. He'd been a ninja since before mom was born, so his judgment on jutsu practice was advice you'd want to listen to. I helped Ojii-san to a comfortable position in the middle of the training field and sat across from him in my own loose meditative sit. I often used this position to relax and get rid of the stress of the day. After meeting Neji's team and arguing with the newly dubbed "butt-head", I needed a little down time.

"What do we envision today, Ojii-san? The clouds? The grass? Or one of Mai-chan's cakes?" Gokino Mai, our landlady, would often make her tenants cherry cakes when it was someone's birthday or for other celebrations, like when my brother was brought home from the hospital for the first time. Mai-chan's cherry cakes were kinda like my favorite cake, carrot, only with chunks of cherry and peanuts and a secret ingredient in them. No one would really call Mai-chan's cakes yummy before trying them, but they were surprisingly delicious.

"No, no! Not the cakes…although your birthday is coming up…" Ojii-san started before I playfully hit his balding head. He laughed and continued, "Today, Name-chan, we'll be centering on our chakra and producing a focal area for it." I confusedly tilted my head to the side and he smiled (He's a jolly old man, ain't he?). Ojii-san lifted his left hand and a blue glow was generated around it. Then he lifted his right hand and the same thing happened, with his left hand still glowing. The left glow faded and then the right before he started almost juggling the chakra between his hands. I smiled and nodded eagerly; I'd practiced this before, but I wasn't all too good at it. As they say, "practice makes perfect"…even though my philosophy is "perfection is an impossibility", I decided to listen to the old phrase.

"All right. I'll do my best Ojii-san!" I took a deep breath, put my hands in a chakra-focusing sign and prepared to channel my chakra.

"Hold it." My concentration burst and I looked at Ojii-san confused. "Follow where I tell you to concentrate your chakra. Stand up too, it'll be easier for me to tell." I obliged my Ojii-san and stood before placing my hands back in their prior position. My mind tickled on my chakra source before Ojii-san interrupted me again, "Don't use your hand-seals. In battle you won't have the time to sit around and prepare your chakra with hand-seals." I nodded and dropped my hands, holding them at my side as my brain tried to focus on my chakra source again. My brain tickled on it and I relaxed myself further, getting the feel of my chakra without hand-seals. Ojii-san's instructions began. Left hand; I coaxed and eventually forced my chakra there, not enough to cause damage, but it hurt like mad and I held my aching hand.

"Don't force it, Nane-chan; coax your chakra to where you want it to go." I took a deep breath and shook my hand to get rid of the pain. Right hand; again I tickled the chakra and moved it gently through my arm and focused it in the palm of my hand, letting some flow out to prevent a chakra clot. Just like blood clots in the veins, chakra clots can hurt like hell, but do much more damage when they burst. My hand began to throb and I let more of the chakra escape while keeping most of it pooled in my hand. "Good, Nane-chan. Never hold your chakra, pool it. Now the left foot." I let my chakra ease out of my hand and I gently channeled it to my left foot. I took a deep breath and wiped my brow. Chakra control is hard for a genin, let alone an academy student like me.

This proceeded for close to an hour or two, I forget how long, before I sat on the ground, drained from my endeavors. I panted heavily and glanced at my Ojii-san. I'd done fairly well, in personal opinion, but what does Ojii-san, an ex-ANBU, think? He just smiled at me and stood with the help of his crutch. I stood on wobbly legs and helped Ojii-san stand steadily. Ojii-san nodded in thanks and started hobbling towards the edge of the clearing to lean against a tree.

"Now, try again." Ojii-san said encouragingly. I was confused and stared at Ojii-san with a matching expression.

"Try what again?" I asked. Ojii-san plucked a pinecone from the ground and chucked it at me with fearsome speed. I only barely dodged. I glared at Ojii-san with hurt. "Why you throw stuff?" I asked like a pouty three-year-old.

"Climb the tree, Nane-chan." Ojii-san answered, as if he hadn't done anything at all. An anger vein appeared on my head and I turned to my greatest enemy, next to butt-face, the tree. I took a deep breath, pooled my chakra in my feet and took a running attempt at climbing the tree, kunai knife in hand. Lo and behold, twenty-five feet up I begin to slip. I slashed the tree at that point and did a few flips in the air before landing, not all too gracefully, on my rump.

"O-Ojii-san! Check it out! Twenty-five feet! Twelve feet higher than my last one!" I celebrated, bouncing around and running in circles. Ojii-san was laughing and applauding my accomplishment. It was a good start; I had maybe fifty or so feet until the top, but I was a third of the way there. I only stopped when my stomach reminded me that we were going to be late for dinner. Another jovial laugh from Ojii-san signaled that he agreed with my starved gut.

"Come on, Nane-chan. Let's go home and have your mother's famous curry rice-balls." Ojii-san said as he started hobbling in the direction of our apartment-house.

"Yay! Curry rice-balls!" I celebrated. Ojii-san had an old friend that lived in the mountains near Konoha and her recopies for curry were hot and spicy! I heard once that she called it the "curry of life" and that she _saved_ some kids my age with it. I doubt they were rescued by the taste-bud-frying stuff, but the spicy hot nature of the curry was addicting. It gave me somewhat of a spice-drunk nature, where I become happy and pleasant around everyone like a happy drunk. Hence, the spice-drunk nature. Anyway, Ojii-san's friend gave my mom the recipe for her "curry of life" and it's darn good.

Ojii-san moved a bit since my celebration moment, and it was a bit slow for my taste. I put my hand to my chin and thought for a minute. 'If Ojii-san moves at this pace and I keep pace with him, I'll miss out on most of the spicy goodness. If I go ahead of Ojii-san, I'll get all the good stuff, but then I won't be able to eat it until Ojii-san gets home and the super spice will be gone…what to do? I know!' I hammered my right fist into my left palm and the smile on my face went from ear to ear. I ran in front of Ojii-san and knelt in front of him, my arms stretched out behind me.

"Hop on Ojii-san! We'll get home faster!" I smiled. He smiled back and awkwardly arranged himself so I could carry him on my back. I then stood and started taking the shortest route home. Now, because Kasai has me do some of her metal work and haul around heavy things, it was a bit easier to carry my light-weight Ojii-san than it would be for most. I sped through the streets as Ojii-san laughed excitedly with the wind flowing through the ten or twelve hairs still on his head and swinging his crutch like a jockey's whip for his horse. The only difference was he was just kidding and never hit me. Before long, a green figure ran alongside us.

"Hello, Nanei-san! Where are you going in such a hurry?" the junior Green Beast asked me. He kept an easy pace without tiring at all while I began to pant in the exercise.

"We're going…to my place! …We're having…curry rice-balls…wanna join?" I invited my green friend. Lee smiled an almost blinding grin and nodded excitedly.

"I'd never pass up an invitation for curry!" and so the three of us were speeding from roof to roof towards my family's apartment-house. When we stopped at my front door, I set Ojii-san down and leaned against the wall to catch my breath. Ojii-san unlocked the door and hobbled inside. I was still panting as I walked in and Lee came in behind me. When Lee shut the door, Okaa-san ("mother" in Japanese) called out from the kitchen.

"Nanei-chan! Otou-san ("father" in Japanese)! You're right on time!" Okaa-san walked out of the kitchen in her usual cooking apron, wiping her hands dry. Okaa-san was your average woman, only cooler. She'd often make us the best, most spicy dinners and she also made sure her entire family liked a kimono or yukata pattern before applying it in her store. Okaa-san had long auburn hair that reached her rump and was always tied in a braid, she stood about 5'7", and she had a good figure, despite two kids, a store of her own, and the need to support five people. "Oh! Who's this, Nanei-chan?" Okaa-san asked when she saw Lee behind me.

"You…remember Lee…right Okaa…san?" I asked, my breath catching and faltering slightly. Lee glanced at me a moment before turning and waving at my mother.

"It is a pleasure to see you again Mrs. Ikasu-san!" Lee said cheerfully. Okaa-san smiled back at him while I wandered to my school bag, which I left by the front door, and pulled out my inhaler. I put the device to my mouth and pressed the magic button, inhaling the relaxing medicine. I sighed and took a couple deep breaths before returning the inhaler to my bag. Lee walked over to me, placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me worriedly.

"'S'okay, Lee-kun. I just have a small case of asthma. No biggie." Hurray for asthma. It was one of the few things keeping me from my full potential. I hate it though, being a gasping fish in the middle of a battle is not a helpful kunoichi attribute.

"Are you sure? I remember you having a lot of trouble breathing." Ah yes, the night Lee and I first met was not the kindest. After my fight with Neji and when I returned to the room with all my gear, my breathing became even more labored. Just like this time, I grabbed my inhaler and relaxed my bronchial tubes so I could breathe again. Hinata made sure I was okay, but apparently, my lungs took a bit more of a beating than I thought: they'd stretched a bit too much and my body set up its stupid defense system to bring them back to size. Relaxing the rest of that might made it better, but I've always had worse cases of asthmatic attacks since then.

"I'm okay Lee. Promise." I smiled reassuringly. He seemed to buy this and patted my shoulder before standing and offering me a hand up. I took it and Lee yanked me to my feet. Still gripping his hand, I dragged him into our kitchen/dining room and plopped him down in one of the seats. "Cu-urry rice-ba-alls! Cu-urry rice-ba-alls!" I chanted as I filled a plate for Lee and one for myself; I set his in front of him and I sat myself next to the green guy. The curry pot was set in the middle of the table and we all dove in, getting as much of the "curry o' life" as possible.

…

"Goodbye, Ikasu family. And thank you for having me over for dinner." Lee said as he was preparing to leave.

"It was no trouble, Lee! But I'll have to make more curry for next time." Okaa-san answered cheerfully as the rest of us laughed. It was hilarious; as soon as the pot was set before us, Lee and I dug in to the curry, scooping up and dousing our rice balls in as much curry as possible. What was even funnier was that when we went for thirds, there was hardly any curry left. Lee and I ended up splitting the last rice ball we could drown in the curry. All in all, it was delicious curry and I needed to invite Lee over to our next curry-related dinner.

"Your cue will be when Nanei-chan comes racing home!" Otou-san said as he patted me on the head. I grinned like a Cheshire cat and nodded. Lee smiled as well and waved a goodbye as he stepped out the door and ninja'd his way home. When he was gone, my little brother started laughing and pointing at me. I put my hands on my hips and glared at my baby brother.

"What are you laughing at, twerp?"

"Nanei-nee-san's boyfriend is a weirdo! Haha!" My eye twitched and an anger vein made itself omnipresent as my brother ran around chanting "nee-san's boyfriend's a weirdo!" over and over again.

"Get back here you twerp! So help me, I'll have you strung up by your toes!" I threatened, chasing my brother around and around the house-apartment until my brother passed out from exhaustion and I panted to recover my breath.

"It's so nice to see Nanei-chan and Obori-chan getting along. Ne, Moki-kun?" Okaa-san said cheerfully. Otou-san shook his head and facepalm'd himself in exasperation. Ojii-san just laughed at our expense.

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So you like?

Alrighty, Nanei's momma is named Rika, Nanei's daddy is named Moki, Nanei's brother is Obori, and I am yet to give Nanei's grandpa a name. For now, he is Ojii-san until Frosty or me can think up some kind of name appropriate for the jolly old man.

Err…yep…that's all for now.

Ja ne, minna!


	4. Of Apples and Scarecrows

"Run Around the Foolsberry Bush" – Chapter 4

And chapter four is ready to go! Yatta! Now, there may be some of you wondering "What the heck is a 'foolsberry'?" Well…you'll find out.

Also, yay for reviews! I let several other people (whom I personally know and love) read this story and they say it's pretty cool! Only one person said it sucked, but maybe that's because they don't watch _Naruto_ and have no clue what the ninjas look like…poor guy…

Also, also, forgive me Frosty! You'll have more of a lead role in this chapter, I promise! Fewer cameo appearances and more up front presentations, I swear it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own**** any major part of **_**Naruto**_**, except for purchased**** merchandise. Frosty (playing Ember) belongs to herself (I think…she told me ****once that ****she doesn't even belong to herself, but she doesn't know who/what owns her…I think it's Gaara, 'cuz he's friggin' awesome and she loves him to bits.). I own Nanei, her family, and Kuroi Ada (No more cameo for Ada either!).**

NEWSFLASH: Recent sources have proven that a foolsberry **IS** an actual berry! Repeat: Foolsberry equals real!!

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I stifled a tired yawn as I stretched my sore arms and legs. Man, I feel like a chiropractor was tying me in knots all night. I whirled my arm around to pop out the sores, succeeding only half way as I looked at my clock. 8:21 AM. Wow…I'm earlier than I've ever been. Rather than panic and run around screaming that the apocalypse was upon us, I sleepily trudged to the bathroom, where I started my day with a short, cold shower to help wake me up. When I finished, I felt much more awake (ice water has that effect on sleepy people) and got myself dressed in my usual cream, white, brown, and black outfit (same as in Chapter 1). I yawned slightly as I walked out of my room and into the kitchen.

"Nanei-chan? Why are you up so early? Usually I don't see you until after 8:50." Okaa-san teased. I playfully punched her in the back and smiled as I grabbed an apple and sat in a chair at our dining room/kitchen table.

"Morning, Otou-san. Anything new in the news?" I asked, having sat across my dad at the table. His face was buried in the paper when I walked in, and he kinda zones when he gets into his "paper-mode", as I call it. Otou-san almost jumped five feet when he heard me and he looked around the kitchen frantically before relaxing at seeing it was me.

"Nanei-chan! You startled me…" Otou-san said as he got over his start, "…no nothing new really. The city is planning on putting a fountain in one of the parks near our shop, so business could be slow for a while." My dad answered as he returned to the paper. I was halfway through my apple when my dad put down the paper and looked at me like I'd sprouted horns and a second head. "Why are you up so early?" I swallowed my bite of apple and moved to answer Otou-san when he interrupted me, "Wait! You're a ninja disguised as my daughter, aren't you?! Rika! Call the ANBU! We have a strange ninja in the house!" I laughed hard at Otou-san's overly expressive way to tease me and my mother couldn't help it either. Soon all three of us were laughing whole-heartedly. When our laughing spat was done with, the clock on the kitchen wall read that it was 8:37 AM, a good take-off time so I could get to school without being left breathless.

"Well, it's time I scramble. I want to surprise Ember today." I said as I kissed my parents' cheeks and grabbed two more apples from the fruit bin before placing them in my school bag and slinging said bag's strap over my head and onto my left shoulder as the bag portion rested on my right hip. Why the apples? For snacks? No. These apples are for Ember. They are a lot like cigarettes in addictiveness, only good for you, and Ember is an apple maniac. Ember's mom has to lock away their fruit bin because Ember is so avid about apples.

I whistled a tune as I left my apartment-house and jumped from roof to roof over to where Ember and her family lived. It was only three blocks away, but the environment changes so quickly, most need to pause and recollect where they are because of the difference. Ember lives in the forge area, where there are stone paths rather than dirt and the trees are rare in the sector, though ponds and streams are much more common. I landed in the middle of a stony square and studied the lack of happy decorations and wooden fences. See, the forges can sometimes have massive fire problems, so littering this place with trees and wooden things was never a good idea. Also, stone paths plus sparse vegetation equal little to no fire spread. Only a few people milled about, but they all either worked there or they were taking their morning walks.

I looked around for a bit before moving towards the closest house to the forge, the Tankou clan's main house. I said before that Ember's family made weaponry and other steel devices, but they are also a fairly skilled, though fairly small, clan. This is so they can be mobile and bring their services wherever needed rather than have tons of people gather around the hot forges. When I reached the front door of the house, I knocked loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to wake everyone up.

"I'll get it!" said a familiar voice. The door opened to reveal Ember in her ninja clothes: a khaki skirt which reached her knees and was pleated to allow maneuverability, a pair of brown-black shorts under the skirt, and a short-sleeve blue tee-shirt with a khaki vest over it. She also wore brown arm and leg warmers. Her leg warmers pooled at her ankles over her navy ninja shoes. What can I say? She likes those colors. I smiled wide and said hello to my friend. "N-Nanei?! Why are you up so early?"

"I just woke up I guess."

"Oh…my…god…Nanei's early…IT'S THE APOCALYPSE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Ember was about to run frantically around her house when I pulled out one of the apples from before. Ember immediately went silent and stared intently at the apple I held in my hand. I smiled in victory.

"Go get your stuff Ember, we're not going to be late for school today." Ember nodded, still staring at the apple, and ran back inside to gather her things. A moment later she emerged.

"Bye mom, bye dad! I'll be back to get that Foolsberry Pie you promised!" Ember said as she waved goodbye to her parents and shut the door behind her. "Now can I have the apple?" Ember asked, giving me the famous puppy eyes. I sighed and handed her the red apple and she hugged it before biting into the fruit. When we turned to leave, I bumped into somebody.

"Ah! Gomen!" I said rubbing my nose, "I didn't see you there." I smiled sheepishly at the person and heard a slight chuckle.

"That's alright. I probably shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." The, apparently male, person said. I looked up at his face and noticed that I couldn't see his actual face. His left eye, the only visible part of his face, was creased to look like a smile, he had a blue-black mask covering everything from the bridge of his nose down, and his hitai-ate was tilted to cover his right eye. The guy was dressed in a jounin outfit and he held a suspicious orange book with a red "R" printed on the back and the picture of a man chasing a woman on the front with "Icha Icha Paradise" written on the front above the picture. Adding to the strangeness of this man was the white-grey plume of hair atop his head that seemed to lean over to one side. Ember looked at him and smiled.

"Hello, Kakashi-san! Come back to get your weapons fixed?" Ember asked the stranger as she hugged him around the middle. He nodded and pulled ember off of him. The white-haired dude patted Ember's head and stepped aside to let us pass. We walked away a bit before he went inside Ember's house and bid hello to her parents before shutting the door behind him.

"Wait, you know that guy, Ember?" I asked as Ember took another bite.

"Yeah," Ember said through the apple. She swallowed and continued, "He's Hatake Kakashi. He often comes by to get his weapons fixed or ask for some custom tools. He's also a pervert, but a nice guy, all in all."

"A pervert?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Those 'Icha Icha' books of his are 'romance novels', as he calls them, and he always carries a book in his butt pouch." Ember said, using her fingers to emphasize air quotes. She took another bite of her apple and I stared at it, almost disbelievingly; she was already most of the way done with the piece of food. Yeah, I get off topic _real_ quick. "No! You're breathing on my food!"

"Dude…Ember, it's just an apple…" I said, backing away slightly. As much as I love Ember, she is scary when she gets territorial about her apples and I mean _really_ scary.

"Apples are my Icha Icha! Touch and die!" Ember said as she took another bite and scowled at me. Ember and I walked in relative silence before we paused by a trash bin and she held the one bit of the apple she never ate, and I believe a rare few do eat, the core. Ember was tearing up as she cradled the core in her hands and I stood next to the trash bin with my hands put together to resemble a book.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to put to rest the humble apple core. He was a brave soldier who put his life on the line to feed the kunoichi-in-training, Tankou "Ember" Kasai. But let us not mourn him, for he-" I said, much like a priest would at a funeral.

"What a brave apple! Sacrificing himself in the line of duty for his fellow apple! Waaaaahhhh!!" Ember cried out, sobbing over the apple. After a moment, she looked at the apple again and held it out over the garbage bin. Several people have already seen our apple antics before, so they merely glanced our way and kept going with their morning. Others, however, stared at us like we were a bit more "special" than others.

"Let him go Ember," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder and put a sad face on. I turned to the apple and closed my eyes. "Let him go." Ember sobbed dramatically as her beloved apple tumbled into the dark depths of the smelly trash bin. We both bowed our heads in respect and walked off towards the ninja academy. Ember gets over things quick, so only a minute after we gave the apple a proper burial we clasped hands and started skipping to the academy, chanting about how it was Friday and a delicious Foolsberry Pie was waiting for us.

Ah, Foolsberry Pie; a delectable treat just like cherry pie, but with foolsberries and foolsberry syrup. The pie is made of a rare species of berry which we harvest and preserve in hopes of breeding fields upon fields of foolsberries. The rare berry is actually not formally called a foolsberry, but a blackberry. The foolsberry is only formed when blackberries make a mistake in color and turn into red berries with a purple-ish juice. The red blackberries were tricked by nature and so the name "foolsberry" came into being. It was a very rare event, so for years the Takous and myself have secretly harvested and attempted to breed the red of the foolsberry.

Ember's family was successful in breeding ten foolsberry bushes, whereas my foolsberry attempts didn't sprout a thing. The gene is so rare, that only a few bushes actually generate the red berry outside with the blackberry inside, only sweeter in taste. Nobody else knows about the foolsberry, so shush! Don't tell anyone about the foolsberries! If you do, people might harvest them to extinction! Getting back on topic, Ember and I chanted our own verse for the foolsberry:

…

…

_"__Run around the foolsberry bush!_

_You'll see it's red and pretty._

_But of the berries, it is real rare._

_If we lose it, life will be sh__iy!__"_

…

…

Of course, we censor ourselves. We don't want to be thrown out or stared at because we say a bad word; we want to be stared at only when we do cool stuff! By the time we get to school, Ember and I had sung the song five times…and we still weren't tired of it, but we stop for the sake of our fellow schoolmates. We don't want them to go insane on our behalf. As we walked through the halls, Ember and I chatted about the necessary materials (utensils, plates, etc.) and if we wanted to invite anyone.

"How about Ojii-san? He's never tried a Foolsberry Pie and I want to see his face when he tries it for the first time."

"Your grandpa's okay, but if we invite too many people, there won't be enough foolsberry to go around." Ember said as she and I walked into the classroom. Most of our classmates were there, one being the always punctual Sasuke, and most of them were sitting bored or chatting with friends. I glanced around and my eyes locked onto Sasuke.

"How about we invite Uchiha?" I asked, loud enough for said boy to hear. I wore an evil smirk as he looked our way. "He can find out how sour the foolsberry is." Ember, catching on to my joke, added to it.

"But Nanei, if Sasuke eats a bite of the pie, his face will be flipped inside out _forever_!" I looked at Ember with a fake "duh" expression. It's not that Ember hates Sasuke, and neither do I, but we're just not fangirls towards him. Ember clings to many of the guys' backs because she thinks they're awesome for doing one cool thing or for putting up with her. Most of the time, Ember clings to Naruto's back because he plays so many cool pranks. That's why we tease Sasuke so much; it's our way of saying "thanks for putting up with us, you rock, but we're never going to admit it".

"_Exactly_! It'd be an improvement if you ask me!" I said, my smirk turning into an evil grin as Naruto and many of the other boys in class laughed along with us; we got death glares from all the girls, Hinata excluded. Ember and I walked by Sasuke and he gave me an evil glare for "insulting" him. Ember continued to our seats in the back and I stood next to Sasuke, playfully punching his arm. "I'm just kidding, Sasu-chan!" he hmph'd and turned away from me with his eyes closed and an embarrassed blush on his pouting face. It was his way of saying "Yeah, whatever. Now get out of my face." "Sasu-chan" was a nickname I gave to the Uchiha that would always say I was just messing with him. I smiled, giggled and bounced to where Hinata was sitting. Today, Hinata sat on my left, Ember to her left, and the currently stoic Kuroi Ada sitting just to my right on the next bench as the rest of our crew was scattered like chicken feed.

"Ohayo, Ada-san!" I said, waving to our new classmate. He turned to me, somewhat startled, and blinked a moment before nodding his head and looking back to the front of the class. 'He's a bit shy. I guess he doesn't talk to people too much…' My thoughts trailed off as I watched some of the girls in class: most of them were clustered together and whispering, glancing occasionally at Ada and Uchiha. A couple of the girls, whose faces resembled tomatoes, were approaching Ada. I glanced casually at Ada and saw he was trying to shrink away as the girls came closer. Super Nanei to the rescue!

Being impulsive, I launched from my seat towards Ada. In my mind, I saw myself in full samurai armor as the two girls took on the form of terrible summon beasts and Ada became the mortally wounded warrior I had to help defend. My imagination launched me into mortal combat with the two beasts as a quick club-like beat erupted in the background. Ember soon joined me, also in full armor and went straight to the defense of our fallen comrade. My vision poofed away as I came back into reality and…hugged Ada. He blinked confusedly, the girls gasped, and I grinned ear to ear.

"Random hug!" Ember shouted as she too hugged Ada, on his back. Much of the class went quiet, and the girls who were approaching Ada stopped and turned away shyly to go back to their seats. Ember and I hugged Ada for about ten or so seconds before letting go and smiling cheerfully at our wide-eyed stoic, and slightly blushing classmate. There were several glares sent my way, but, once again, I paid them no mind.

"I owe you one." Ada whispered when I sat back in my seat. His face had a grateful expression and our attention was diverted by Iruka running into the classroom out of breath. He pointed threateningly to Naruto and assigned him detention.

"Damn…I missed it…" I said, snapping my fingers in a frustrated way. Naruto was notorious for announcing he will commit a prank, but he always neglected saying _when_. This seemed to be a good prank though, mainly because Iruka-sensei appeared to be Naruto's victim by his hair being askew, his chuunin vest being horribly wrinkled, and his ankles only half-way bound by the wrappings Iruka-sensei always wore on them. 'I hate it when I miss a prank…'

-

- - -

-

Chapter four is FINALLY done! Took me forever to get the inspiration to finish it…

But yes, the foolsberry is an actual berry and it has, to my knowledge, only been seen on California mountainsides. You know, even though I had no previous knowledge of the foolsberry before I titled and wrote this story, it's weird on how many things I got right about it. I said it was a red blackberry with a blackberry inside, it tastes sweeter than normal blackberries, and it is a very hard to find berry. And that is what a foolsberry is! Even though it is not called a foolsberry in technical terms (or is it?), the foolsberry does exist, so add the word to your dictionary. Hurray for my accidental psychic-ness!

For all of my current foolsberry knowledge, Frosty receives full credit…and several apples of gratitude.

Frosty (In the background): Yay!


End file.
